DESCRIPTORS

Throughout the world, the forms of employment in industrialized countries are in a state of flux. Employment relationships that were previously considered "regular " (permanent, full-time) are becoming less significant. In place of these relationships, other employment options (such as fixed contracts, part-time employment, and contingent employment) are becoming more common. Using Germany as an example, a study was conducted to describe what factors lie behind the dynamics of the change in employment forms. The study showed that the regulatory or legal framework, in contrast to what is often implied, is only one key factor in explaining the change in employment forms. Other factors include labor costs, net income obtainable, and structural change. The study concluded that it is not possible, based on current research, to determine or prescribe the future of employment forms. Instead, two competing trends are likely: (1) increasing loss of significance of the regular employment relationship as a result of even more diversity in employment forms; and (2) reform of the regular employment relationship (suc